Chapter Nine
Homecoming
itsmeocean@hotmail.com
The little girl sat opposite him, bounded to the wooden, rickety chair. He was actually pretty impressed by her- defiant, flashing blue eyes glared at him, following his every move. Now that he had the itchy blond wig off his bald scalp, he had morphed into someone else- an executioner. His face was hidden by a black hood, revealing only his eyes and his nose. Many children he captured before had quivered in fear at the mere sight of him- gazing up at him with imploring, tearing eyes.
This one was different. Her eyes followed his every move as if she was challenging him to do something. Of course he would not- they were kindred spirits. If only she knew what her parents had wanted to do initially. But she didn't of course. Maybe he should be the bearer of truth- he loved seeing the light of innocence, the complete trust in their parents, crumbling and shadowed over right before his eyes. Yes, truth hurts. But everyone had to know.
"You're not going to eat?" He asked her, nodding at the bowl of cereal before her on the rotting table. Childish anger radiated from within her as she shook her pretty head vehemently- blond, sweaty curls hitting the sides of her face as she did.
"Not going to talk?"
Again the same act of insolence. Rosebud lips pouted tightly, refusing words to escape. Had he have a sense of humor, he might actually see her turning purple.
"I'm bringing a friend to you. You like to have a friend?"
"NO!" Her shrilling voice finally rang out. The first time he heard the little voice was a few hours ago when she woke up. The instinct in her told her that he was not her daddy and she made sure he knew of her knowledge. His ears were still ringing with the memory of her loud, screaming voice.
He had slapped her hard for hurting his ears. Her rosy right cheek was a little swelled now.
"Hang on. You'll love it." He pushed his chair behind and stood up. She would not be able to see him smirked but maybe, those sharp blue eyes might catch the glint in his eyes. He would have to break this child before he sent her to meet his mother- he didn't want to cause the old lady any grief with a disobedient, spoiled brat.
He lifted the cloth off a cage on the floor with a flourish, like he was a magician unveiling an illusion after a few seconds of prancing around the stage. But unlike a magician, he was not one to lie or deceive to children. He didn't think he was doing them any favors but nor did he think that he was torturing them. He just had to do what he had to do.
The serpent slithered in its cage, its buff-brown body gracefully coiling up the moment it sensed a change in its surroundings. He smiled- this land was foreign to it but still, it was too beautiful for him to not risk bringing it into his life. Placid and shy, it packed the most venomous bite compared to all its friends and cousins. And it would sink its teeth repeatedly into any predator who dared threaten it. Beady black eyes stared at him but it was trapped within its barred prison- he was the master of its fate.
He always felt like he was actually born with its spirit- unless he was riled, he would not strike, preferring the peace and quiet in which his troubled mind could mind some brief salvation. But no… they would not leave him alone and so he would bite. He would bite until they learn of their horrible mistakes!
Picking up the cage by its top handle, he brought it to the table and slammed it down, agitating his new best friend. It uncoiled itself and hissed- its forked tongue with the original, honeyed deceit, struck out menacingly. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the little girl flinching slightly, her fixated eyes widened in fascination and fear of the innocuously colored snake.
"Her name's Valerie. Maybe you'll like to put your finger in?"
She shot a lethal look at him. "I HATE IT! It's UGLY! WHY DON'T YOU PUT YOUR HEAD IN?"
He threw back his head and laughed though it was without much mirth. The girl amused him-that was all. He hunched over and pressed his palms on the table.
"Listen up, you brat. You eat your cereal or I'll make sure you spend a night with Valerie and let me assure you, you won't wake up. You've just hurt Valerie's feelings and I'm letting you off easy. Now, finish it up!"
"I can't eat! I can't move my hands! And I WANT DADDY! WANT DADDY!"
He decided that her left cheek should match her right. A heavy hand rose in the air and she screamed before it even landed with a loud crack against her tender skin. The force toppled the chair over its side and she crashed down along with it, crying finally as her angry shouts came out in sputters.
"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOUR UGLEE SNAKE! MY DADDY WILL COME AND BEAT YOU!"
"If he's even still alive, my dear girl. And I told you, do not insult Valerie. If you can't move your hands, then dunk your head in the bowl and eat!" He flexed his biceps, seeing the veins bulging like rivers of royal blood meandering down his skin. Maybe the next time the girl was too noisy for him, he would punch her mouth and rip out her tongue. His mother would appreciate a quiet kid.
"MY DADDY WILL BEAT YOU UNTIL YOU'RE JELLO! I HATE THE SNAKE! I WILL CHEW ITS HEAD OFF AND SPIT IT IN YOUR FACE! I WILL! I WILL!"
For once, he contemplated defying the other's wish and kill the brat prematurely. Narrowing his eyes, fighting back the temptation, he left the ramshackle cabin and went to take the necessary equipment from his car to prepare for the upcoming contact.
Maybe the girl would starve to death first.
Yes. That would be a very nice fate for a brat.
***
Joe paced up and down the homely living room which belied the many troubled minds it housed inside. If he was not driving himself mad, he was sure harassing his parents' sanity with his repetitive walk. Laura stood up from the couch finally and grabbed his hand. He stopped in mid-stride, unable to calm himself down but trying hard to, just for her sake.
"Sit down, baby. He'll call and when he does, he will make a mistake and we will get him. He already made a mistake, picking on Hallie." Laura's eyes shone with determination and quiet strength, infusing his veins with a mild surge of hope. His family, standing in solidarity with him against this monster, was his rock and for a moment, he almost believed Laura.
Almost.
"Thanks mom. But… I can't… we're just waiting and waiting…"
"Sit down. We're waiting but we're waiting together." Laura led him to the sofa and passed a cup of water on the coffee table over to him. Fenton and two of Chief Collig's men had just finished rigging up a call tracer and recorder in. Right then, Joe just wanted to run up to all guys wearing size twelve shoes and interrogate them about Hallie's disappearance.
"Mom, dad…" Frank stepped through the open front door with Elle in tow. "Joe…"
"One hour's almost up." Chief Collig glanced up at the clock and stood up to join the family, patting his men on the shoulders. "Get the guy."
Joe hunched over with his hands clasped together and pressed against his lips, staring the phone expectantly. Frank stood in front of him and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Joe. At least he's communicating, no longer just a figureless, formless shadow we are chasing…"
"I know. I'm trying not to worry. And he's still figureless, not like we know how he looks like!" Joe hissed sharply. Shaking his head, he looked up at Frank's concerned deep brown eyes shimmering with too much understanding to be hurt by his ungratefulness. "I'm sorry, bro… it's difficult."
Frank patted his head. "I know, kiddo."
"A kiddo with a missing kid." Joe let out a small laugh, his eyes stinging with unshed tears. "How ironical."
Elle sat down on the adjacent two-seater and even though she said nothing, her slight smile too gave him some assurance. There was a knock on the door next and Joe cocked his head to see who it could be. All those involved were present already.
Laura answered the door and there Vanessa was, with Greg holding on to her. "The man called?"
"Not yet… come in." Laura ushered the couple in. Elle, seeing Vanessa for the first time, instantly knew who she was and stood up immediately, offering the two-seater to her and Greg. Vanessa accepted with a strain smile, avoiding Joe's eyes. Greg drew his wife close, keeping a wary eye on Joe simultaneously. Joe turned away, swallowing the natural anger in him that would augment each time he saw them.
The phone rang and instantaneously, a hushed, tensed silence descended upon everyone in the house. Chief Collig looked up at his men over in the dining room who gave him a ready signal and then motioned for Joe to take the call. With his hands trembling more than he would like, Joe picked up the receiver and spoke evenly into the phone.
"Yes?"
A digitalized voice laughed, alternating between a guttural growl and a high-pitched shrill. "Joe Hardy! Finally! How wonderful it is to hear your voice!"
"Where's Hallie?"
"Hmm… interesting that you should ask… I have silenced her…"
Joe's heart raced with impending doom- silenced. How do you silence a person? Kill them and forever seal their lips.
"If Hallie's dead… I swear… you'll soon be too…" Joe whispered, squeezing the receiver and wishing it was the man's neck. A cluck of tongue mocked his turmoil.
"I have silenced her for a while. You should let people complete their sentences, it's rude to interrupt. Didn't your mother teach you? I hate to be giving free, moral lessons to a twenty-four year old."
"You know me! Who are you? What do you want? Come get me if I'm the one you want, why take Hallie?"
"You're the one I want? You flatter yourself too much! Why would I want to hurt you? You have done nothing to me…"
"Then why? I'll give you anything… let Hallie go!" Joe pleaded, unable to comprehend the kidnapper's intentions. The cyclone of emotions whirling his mind in a chaotic swirl was overbearing but he controlled himself knowing Hallie's life depended on his composure now.
"Anything?" The man asked incredulously, his voice now childlike and in its digital innocence, sounded even more menacing and empty- defiling the human symbol of pure goodness. "Everyone's offering something but nothing that I want. I wanted to shed my old skin and become new again, living my life peacefully but everyone just want to anger me, forcing me to strike! And I will strike again and again just to show you the poison I have in me for all of your kind! My venom of the most lethal kind will course through your veins. Through Hallie, you'll feel the paralysis of your soul and as you struggle for breath, you'll only inhale fire. You'll feel my hatred and hear my two-forked tongue slithering in your mind every tedious night of your life for you're one of them! I despise you! Hallie will despise you too! You don't deserve Hallie!" The voice changed now to a celestial, ethereal tinker. "You wanted to kill her in the first place."
"I didn't!"
"But you had the intention! It's the same…" The digitalized voice grew hollow and wholly evil, crackling like the maniacal glee of a wicked witch howling curses over a simmering cauldron. "How do you think she will feel if I tell her daddy and mommy wanted to kill her before she was even born?"
Joe clenched his fists. "Don't you dare hurt Hallie in any way… if you do, they won't even recognize your DNA when I'm done with you!"
"Tsk, tsk…" The man clucked his tongue again. "Empty vessels make the most noise, don't you think? Where are you now? At home. Where am I now? You don't know! So, you're in no position to threaten me."
"I'll give you my life! My life for Hallie's! Whatever your motives are, your fight's with me! I'm the one who angered you! I'm the one you despised! Not her! She's innocent!" Joe urged for the man to relent- bleeding pleas from his heart. But it was a hopeless appeal for he knew, with the sinking realization, that the man was not interested in bartering, negotiating or holding Hallie for a ransom. The man was a psychopath with its own unfathomable agenda and he was only concerned with carving Joe's downfall with each and every of spoken line of his cryptic intentions.
"Hallie's going to a good place and you'll have time to think about what sort of person you are." The man let out a chuckle that echoed into Joe's ears like the evil laughter of the devil. When he spoke next, his voice morphed into that of the androgynous child.
"Goodbye, daddy."
Childlike laughter rang out. The call disconnected even before laughter stopped.
"COME BACK HERE YOU FREAK! I'LL FIND YOU! AND I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES WITH MY BARE HANDS! I WILL! YOU TOUCH HALLIE AND I'LL KILL YOU! YOU'LL BE BEGGING FOR MERCY AND I WON'T SHOW YOU ANY! I WON'T!"
"Joe…" Frank spoke gently.
"YOU HEAR ME YOU PSYCHO? COWARD!" Joe saw only the color red and Hallie's face in his eyes. He saw a monster with horns laughing into his face, standing in between him and Hallie. He tried to reach for her but couldn't. Hallie was screaming, screaming for him.
"Daddy! Save me! Daddy!"
"COME BACK HERE, BASTARD! I SAID…" The phone was pulled away from his hand. Someone knelt before him- grey eyes gazed tenderly into his own.
"Joe…" She whispered comfortingly. Why did she know how to calm him down only now? "She'll be fine… we'll get through this…"
"Ness… I'm sorry… he doesn't even want my life for Hallie's. I don't know what he wants… I…" He sputtered helplessly. "I don't know where she is…"
"It's ok… she'll be back. Have faith in yourself, your brother and your father. Have faith in Hallie. She'll be back. Our daughter will come back." She pushed back his sweat damped hair and if he was aware of those around him, he would see that they did not necessary approve of what Vanessa was doing but left her to comfort him because it was obviously working.
And he might see Greg narrowing his eyes at him with venom- jealousy raging in his green eyes like a storm gathering over the choppy emerald sea.
But he didn't see all those. He would know later through Frank but right then, Joe could only see Hallie in his mind and Vanessa's beautiful face before him. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him, embracing her as if his life depended on it and burying his face in her soft, ash blond hair.
